Name: Asa Philip Randolph (A. Philip Randolph)
Age: 62
Birthday: April 15, 1889
Ethnicity: African American
School Attended: College of the City of New York
Hometown: Crescent City, Florida
Relationships: married to Lucille E. Campbell
When I was 52 years old I, A. Philip Randolph, organized the March on Washington Movement. Many people believed I was the right man for the job because of my involvement in other pro-black organizations. In 1920 I organized the Friends of Negro Freedom; later in 1925 I organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (“A.” 5). Many people believed in me so I agreed to organize the March on Washington Movement as well.
February of 1941 was when I first proposed the march. My main goal was to get negroes integrated. If this could happen, then I saw no reason to march; if this could happen then I, along with my many followers, wouldn’t march (“Randolph” 2). I used this march as a way to reach out to President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a way to pressure him into changing society so that blacks had more equal rights. I wanted him to guarantee jobs for all black people (“March” 1). It was then that I told African Americans everywhere to meet in Washington on July 1st of 1941. Many agreed to come (Danzer 566).
When President Roosevelt realized that people were planning to come to Washington to protest, he called me in for a meeting. He asked me to back down after I told him that there was an expected attendance of 100 thousand. I told him I would never back down until we African Americans got our point across. At this point, Roosevelt backed down; I held strong and as a result, we were given what we wanted (Danzer 566). Roosevelt announced to America:
“…I do hereby reaffirm the policy of the United States that there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or Government because of race, creed, color, or national origin and I do hereby declare that it is the duty of employers and of labor organizations, in furtherance of said policy and of this order, to provide for the full and equitable participation of all workers in defense industries, without discrimination because of race, creed, color or national origin…” (“Randolph” 3).
This was our agreement; if I stopped the march then all of these things Roosevelt said would come true and I knew he was a man of his word.
Roosevelt waited until June 25, 1941 to make this speech, though. It was very last minute so luckily, on June 28th of 1941, I was allowed to make a speech on a major network of the radio to explain to my followers why I was cancelling the march. I explained how we were given rights so there was no reason to protest; however, many people were confused and insisted that I shouldn’t have cancelled the protest but because of my agreement with President Roosevelt, I kept my word (“Randolph” 3).
Our goal, to pressure President Roosevelt, worked (“March” 1). It worked out very good because we accomplished our goal and didn’t have to protest. I’m not sure how our protest would have turned out but I know it would have been a lot more complicated. My agreement with President Roosevelt helped African Americans all over America; I’m very pleased with the outcome.
Age: 62
Birthday: April 15, 1889
Ethnicity: African American
School Attended: College of the City of New York
Hometown: Crescent City, Florida
Relationships: married to Lucille E. Campbell
When I was 52 years old I, A. Philip Randolph, organized the March on Washington Movement. Many people believed I was the right man for the job because of my involvement in other pro-black organizations. In 1920 I organized the Friends of Negro Freedom; later in 1925 I organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (“A.” 5). Many people believed in me so I agreed to organize the March on Washington Movement as well.
February of 1941 was when I first proposed the march. My main goal was to get negroes integrated. If this could happen, then I saw no reason to march; if this could happen then I, along with my many followers, wouldn’t march (“Randolph” 2). I used this march as a way to reach out to President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a way to pressure him into changing society so that blacks had more equal rights. I wanted him to guarantee jobs for all black people (“March” 1). It was then that I told African Americans everywhere to meet in Washington on July 1st of 1941. Many agreed to come (Danzer 566).
When President Roosevelt realized that people were planning to come to Washington to protest, he called me in for a meeting. He asked me to back down after I told him that there was an expected attendance of 100 thousand. I told him I would never back down until we African Americans got our point across. At this point, Roosevelt backed down; I held strong and as a result, we were given what we wanted (Danzer 566). Roosevelt announced to America:
“…I do hereby reaffirm the policy of the United States that there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or Government because of race, creed, color, or national origin and I do hereby declare that it is the duty of employers and of labor organizations, in furtherance of said policy and of this order, to provide for the full and equitable participation of all workers in defense industries, without discrimination because of race, creed, color or national origin…” (“Randolph” 3).
This was our agreement; if I stopped the march then all of these things Roosevelt said would come true and I knew he was a man of his word.
Roosevelt waited until June 25, 1941 to make this speech, though. It was very last minute so luckily, on June 28th of 1941, I was allowed to make a speech on a major network of the radio to explain to my followers why I was cancelling the march. I explained how we were given rights so there was no reason to protest; however, many people were confused and insisted that I shouldn’t have cancelled the protest but because of my agreement with President Roosevelt, I kept my word (“Randolph” 3).
Our goal, to pressure President Roosevelt, worked (“March” 1). It worked out very good because we accomplished our goal and didn’t have to protest. I’m not sure how our protest would have turned out but I know it would have been a lot more complicated. My agreement with President Roosevelt helped African Americans all over America; I’m very pleased with the outcome.
Works Cited
“A. Philip Randolph.” Library of Congress. 2003. 24 October 2007 <http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/h?faid/faid:@field(DOCID+ms005004)>.
Danzer, Gerald A., et al. The Americans. Evanston, Illinois: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005.
“The March on Washington, 1963.” The Civil Rights Movement. 24 October 2007 <http://www.abbeville.com/civilrights/washington.asp>.
“Randolph & the “Great White Father.” ChickenBones: A Journal. 2007. 24 October 2007 <http://www.nathanielturner.com/aphiliprandolph.htm>.